Surgical procedures are regularly performed using "sets" of preselected surgical instruments, each set being a collection of instruments established from experience to be useful for a given surgical procedure. For example, the surgical instruments expected to be used in an obstetrical procedure are grouped together to form a set and, as a set, are sterilized, stored on a tray or pan, and finally transported upon that tray to the operating arena when their use is required.
Ring-handled instruments (clamps, forceps, scissors, needle holders, etc.) have often been grouped together in such sets by the use of clips which are extended through the corresponding handle loops of the instruments which comprise the sets, usually with the handles of such instruments spread apart to facilitate cleaning and sterilization. Instead of clips, some hospitals use instrument racks having upstanding pegs for holding a stack of ring-handled instruments with the pegs of the rack projecting upwardly through the handle loops. In still other instances, sets of ring-handled surgical instruments have been grouped together by fashioning a makeshift clip from a pair of instruments in such a way that each set is locked together. Clips, holders, and racks typifying the structures used in the past for supporting ring-handled surgical instruments are disclosed in catalogs for such instruments, a representative catalog being The Surgical Armamentarium, V. Mueller Division of American Hospital Supply Corporation, pp. 71-72 (1973).
More recently, a wire rack has been introduced which is intended to support a multiplicity of ringhandled instruments arranged in side-by-side relation with each instrument extending along a generally vertical plane. A separate hinged rod portion of the rack is extended through the upper handle loops of all of the instruments and is then secured to the remainder of the rack in such a way that at least some of the instruments are held with their jaws in open position for sterilization. A second rod is threaded between the handles of the instruments, and in front of separator clip portions of the metal rack, to help hold the instruments in place upon the rack. Such a rack, like other known rack designs, requires the threading of a support element, in this case an elongated rod, through the handle loops in order to support the instruments as a group or set. In general, such racks have not met with widespread acceptance because they are composed of multiple parts which may be difficult to fit properly together (and relatively easy to fit improperly together), do not accommodate a wide variety of different styles and sizes of ring-handled instruments, and tend to support some instruments in a way that might cause them to be scratched or exposed to damage by reason of contact with other instruments in the same set.
A main object of this invention therefore lies in providing a rack for ring-handled surgical instruments which is relatively easy to use, and difficult to misuse or assemble improperly, and which greatly facilitates the storage, sterilization, sorting, carrying, and counting of such instruments. Additional objects involve providing a rack which protects and reduces the possibilities of damage to instruments during processing, assists the surgical team and other workers in sorting and accounting for all of the ring-handled instruments of a set, and facilitates sterilization of such instruments by automatically partially opening the jaws or blades of such instruments as the sections of the rack are latched into their closed positions. A still further object of this invention lies in providing a rack which aids in the carrying of the multiple instruments of a set without risk that one or more instruments might become inadvertently released from the rack, or swing into fully open or fully closed positions, should the rack be tipped or even inverted as it is carried.
Briefly, the rack comprises two sections or members which may be separated to load and unload the rack, and latched together to secure a multiplicity of ring-handled surgical instruments in parallel side-by-side relation with the handles and working surfaces of each instrument held slightly apart to facilitate sterilization. One of the members, a support member, has a substantially flat surface and is provided with an upstanding wall which divides that member into front and rear portions. A plurality of spaced partitions project upwardly from the wall, defining a multiplicity of spaces or compartments for receiving ring-handled instruments oriented so that each instrument extends along a substantially vertical plane with its handles projecting generally horizontally and its handle rings or loops disposed one above the other. The lower handle loop of each instrument is disposed immediately above the rear portion of the support member and directly behind the upstanding wall; hence, downward and/or forward movement of each instrument is prevented by the support member. The second member, a retaining member, interlocks with the support member to confine the instruments against rearward and/or upward movement and, in addition, cams the upper handle loop of each instrument into a raised position to open partially the jaws of that instrument. Specifically, the retaining member latches or engages the rear portion of the support member and has an overhanging cover section which is spaced above the rear portion to limit upward movement of the lower handle rings of the surgical instruments. In addition, the retaining member has a sloping camming section which is engagable with the upper rings of such instruments to cam the handles into partially opened positions, and an upper or second cover section which projects forwardly from the upper limits of the camming section and which extends over the upper handle rings of the instruments to limit opening movement of the handles thereof. The lower or first cover section and the sloping cam section merge to define a rounded leading edge which is dimensioned and positioned to be received between the upper and lower handle loops of each instrument so as to urge the upper handle loop upwardly as the retaining member is shifted into its closed or latched position.
The front portion of the support member ideally extends beneath, and forwardly beyond, the tips of the surgical instruments supported by the rack, and the upper surface of that portion is adapted to carry suitable indicia for each of the instruments of the set. The rack is constructed for individually supporting each of the instruments of that set between a pair of upstanding partitions; however, where the set includes numbers of identical instruments, the user(s) may prefer to have all instruments of the same style supported within a single compartment, thereby facilitating sorting and counting of such instruments. In that event, one or more partitions may be readily detached from the upstanding wall to provide larger compartments for receiving groups of similar instruments.
In the disclosed embodiment, the base support member is provided with a second upstanding wall parallel with and spaced in front of the first wall. The partitions are arcuate in configuration and bridge the two walls.
While different ways may be found to interconnect the two members of the rack, particularly effective results have been achieved by making such components completely separable and providing them with interfitting tabs or tongues which are dimensioned and arranged to slide together as the retaining member is urged into its latching position. In the disclosed embodiment, the retaining member is equipped with lugs or projections which are received within recesses in certain of the tongues provided by the support member when the parts are latched or locked together. Release is achieved simply by flexing the tongues away from the lugs and sliding the two members apart.
The entire rack is ideally formed from a rigid (but still slightly flexible) autoclavable polymeric material. Such a material is preferable to metal because of its relatively light weight, the adaptability of its surfaces for receiving indicia, and, in particular, the greater protection it affords against possible scratching or damage to the instruments intended to be supported by the rack.